Once More, This Time With
by darkmousey
Summary: It's always the firsts that are recorded, but what about the seconds? A series of unrelated oneshots. Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor YuYu Hakusho.
1. Artifice

**Once More, This Time With Artifice**

Hiei glared down at the box the miko had just handed to him with a hesitant smile and nervous laughter. It was behavior that she normally only exhibited when she had made a mistake, or was trying—and failing—to make up for something. Looking between her and the box, he tried to think of anything she had done in the past—or would be doing in the near future—that required his forgiveness, and came up with nothing until he recalled a similar situation, at the same time of year, one year ago.

If his eyes could have widened in shock and narrowed into a glare at the same time, they would have, but as biology stood, his reactions settled on widening for a fraction of a second before settling on glaring at the miko in question as he threw the box back at her—which, by some misfortune, she actually managed to catch—and adamantly told her, "No, I refuse!" Then he turned to leave.

"Wait, Hiei!" Those words, had they come from anyone else, would have been completely harmless to one such as him. However, from the mouth of a powerful, experienced miko, they became her will and he slammed into a barrier with a groan. She had not quite yet learned how to tone down her power to only restrain rather than maim.

"_Onna…_" he threatened, turning back to the sheepish miko and her box of poison.

"Look, Hiei, I'm sorry for last year, but you know it's tradition for girls to give guys chocolate on Valentine's Day, and you're special to me, so you deserve to know you're appreciated, and what better way than through tradition…"she rambled. He continued to glare and ignore her until her final outburst of, "And how was I supposed to know that chocolate would put you in the hospital for a week!"

The argument had merit, he grudgingly admitted. He had eaten his share of Ningenkai sweets, but had never eaten a bite of chocolate, and this "delicacy" was not available in Makai, so he had no way of forewarning her. But he was still bitter about it.

He then noticed she had begun to open the box. Knowing there was no escape from this barrier, he kept his eyes on it, determined not to be caught off guard again. To his surprise, rather than little brown lumps, these were white. Kagome reached into the box and picked one up, offering it to him. "It's white chocolate, which technically isn't chocolate at all, it just tastes like it. Kinda."

When he finally took it from her hand, hers went to her back pocket to bring out her cell phone. After last year's incident, he was sure she had the number for Reikai emergency services on speed dial. The miko did not want to be the death of him, for all her well-meaning actions since he'd met her did to harm him.

Hiei contemplated the little white lump in his hand. It looked different than the chocolate from the previous year, and though it smelled similar, there was also a heavier scent of chemicals. Knowing there was no way he would be allowed to leave without fulfilling her Ningenkai tradition, he popped the candy into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and waited for the worst as he contemplated the interesting flavor the thing had left on his palate. Not bad when he wasn't going into immediate poison-shock.

She stared at him in silence for a full two minutes before a smile cracked on her face and she put away her cell phone before leaping forward to hug him. "You're not convulsing!" she cheered.

Hiei rolled his eyes. He had no doubt: this well-meaning little miko would be the death of him.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading the beginning of my new product of whimsy. I have a couple more situations in mind, but there will be many more, and I will be taking requests.<p> 


	2. Strays

**Once More, This Time With Strays**

Mama Higurashi, despite her kind and loving nature, had to acknowledge that this was a pathetic sight, right out of a movie: her daughter standing in the doorway, soaked from the rain, using her puppy-dog eyes to clearly beg, _Can we keep him?_

She sighed, arms crossed, just as she had at a similar scene years ago. "Kagome, you know we can't afford to feed any more strays." _At least, _she conceded, not until Buyo, the first Higurashi stray, stopped waking up from his coma-like naps.

Mama Higurashi wasn't sure if it was tears or the water dripping down from her daughter's hair, but by the furrowing of Kagome's brow, she could tell her daughter had decided to up the ante. _"Please, _Mama, just until he gets better."

She stood her ground, cocking a brow. _I've heard that one before._ When Kagome had shown up on their doorstep with Buyo, the cat had been so skinny, it was easy to see his ribs under all the wet fur. Two weeks later and in much better health, the cat had turned into a bear trap of claws and fangs at the mention of going to a better home. He still looked at her warily and sulked when Kagome was gone.

Now came the tears, complete with lip quiver. Mama sighed. "Fine." Kagome cheered up right away, looking hopeful. "But he has to leave once he's better," she said firmly. Not that she thought it would make any difference; Kagome had already started dragging the black-cloaked, black-haired—and was that a sword?—man inside and upstairs, clearly not listening any more.

Mama sighed. Hopefully this one wouldn't get overly possessive of Kagome, too. Buyo would be hell to put up with if he was kicked off his human's bed.

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><p>AN: What can I say? I had an image of panicked chibi-Kagome holding a soaking chibi-Hiei, and this was born :) And I like the idea of a normalfrustrated Mama Higurashi. Hope you enjoyed it!


	3. The Other Woman

AN: Here I go again, drabbling when I really should be working on my entry for The Deadliest Sin's Big Bang. *shrug* Well, enjoy!

Once More, This Time With The Other Woman

Kagome looked on from afar, hidden in the tree line where he'd left her. Watching them together, tears springing to her eyes, she couldn't help but recall memories of the past, when she'd spied on another couple. Just like back then, they shared a short, tragic past together. Just like back then, she'd urged him to go to her.

But unlike back then, she didn't feel the overwhelming jealousy and sadness that almost allowed a Shikon shard to take hold of her.

As she stood there, hidden amongst the trees, she couldn't help but smile as she watched them embrace and little blue stones fell with _tinks_ on the ground.

This time, she didn't really mind being the other woman.


	4. Mongols

**Once More, This Time With Mongols**

_Well, this is interesting,_ she thought as she looked calculatingly upon the group of newcomers that accompanied her father into the camp, all atop the shaggy, sturdy ponies of characteristic of the plains. Seeing the young boy with the men, she immediately knew the reason for their visit.

The Ungirad survived by the beauty of their daughters.

It was an interesting place she had been born into—or rather, reborn into. It had been strange growing up and learning all she had to in order to survive in this life while a steady stream of vivid thoughts entered her mind, thoughts of somewhere else. She was now old enough to understand that those were the thoughts, the wisdom, the memories of the Kagome-that-was, made just as clear for the Kagome-that-is—Borte, she was called now.

Her mother called her away from the open tent flap she had been spying out of and returned to her chores, helping her mother prepare the meal for her family and her father's guests. She did not have long to wait to sate her curiosity, and by the time the meal was nearly done, her father had finished showing his guests around their camp and they returned just as she was setting out the kumis and vessels from which to drink it.

When they entered, her eyes were immediately drawn to the young boy, just a little older than her.

His father, Yesugei, introduced him as Temudgin.

She had always had this certain, indescribable thing that made her different from her father and mother, different from her whole tribe, and she had never known what it was, and she still didn't, but he had it too. And in that moment, she knew. In his eyes was recognition.

_Hiei,_ whispered the Kagome-that-was.

Their fathers spoke over the meal. She ignored them. There was only one reason for a chief with a young son to visit another chief with a young daughter. Securing an alliance. Marriage.

She gazed at him from across the spread of food, talking to him with her eyes, a language they both still knew in this life. The idea of marriage she had come to accept. The idea of marriage to him she relished.

Looking at him, smirking at each other as their fathers came to an agreement, she held in her mind, her eyes, the same knowledge that he did.

Together, they would rule the world.

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><p>AN1: Though Genghis Khan (Temudjin's title when he grew up and made a name for himself) is known for being a ruthless conqueror, his relationship with his first wife, Borte, was very sweet. He often went to her for advice, trusting her as much as any advisor and when he left for war, if he didn't take her with him, she was given the responsibility of ruling the Mongol homeland as Grand Empress. Her children were the only ones to rule his empire after his death. I recommend watching The Mongol, if you're interested in the subject.<p>

AN2 (to dark-wolf-howl): I wanted to reply to your reviews, but since you don't have the messaging feature enabled, I hope you see this. I'm glad you've been enjoying my collections of oneshots; I write what makes me happy, and I'm always happy to see that other's get some joy out of it as well. As for Along Came a Kitsune, I just don't see myself being motivated to finish a story for a pairing I don't much care for any more; I do think it's a decent piece of writing, so I put it up for adoption, but I don't think I'll be working on it beyond typing up an outline for someone else. If it's not picked up in a year or so, I may consider typing out a detailed summary with some scenes I had planned out and posting that for anyone who's interested. If nothing else, it's better than leaving it on hiatus.


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